Afternoon Tea at Grand Floridian

[horizons82]

My wife and occasionally enjoy tea and dinners at an English-style teahouse that is not too far from us. Because we enjoy it so much we've been curious about the Afternoon Tea at the GF and wanted to get some input and see if anyone could answer a few questions.

-Are there a la carte items available to order, or is everything a set package with finger sandwiches, little pastries, etc.? I'm trying to figure out if it is something that would be filling enough to do as a dinner or not.

-It will just be my wife and I going, so we're also wondering if it is loud or a quieter atmosphere. I know they also offer a Perfectly Princess Tea, so we're wondering if that can get loud with the younger ones there or do these take place in different areas?

Thanks for the help!

 

[FitzherbertFreak]

I don't know when you'll be in WDW, but I just wanted to let you know that the Tea Room is currently closed for refurbishment until August 30th.

Involving the a la carte question, I believe that they bring a set package of food to your table. I know for sure that you get a cheaper rate, if you get the Tea package that does not include alcohol. Perfectly Princess Tea will definitely be louder, but I guess how loud depends on the kids having tea that day. If you're set on meeting the princesses there, I say go for the Perfectly Princess Tea. However, if you just are going for the tea and atmosphere, I'd stick with just the regular Afternoon Tea.

 

[horizons82]

Thanks for that. This wouldn't be until in December, so the refurb wouldn't be any problem.

It's just us two adults so we wouldn't be doing the Perfectly Princess Tea...was mostly just wondering about the noise level that event would create and whether the packages would include enough food for a meal or if it was more of a snack-sized accompaniment to the tea.

Thank you for the info.

 

[Tiggerish]

I've had tea at the Garden View Tea Room several times. The menu contains several "packages", including one that could be considered a full meal (an upscale equivalent of "the ploughman's lunch"). I believe there are some items that can be ordered a la carte, I know that I've ordered an extra plate of sandwiches, which are more filling than you might imagine considering their size!

It's generally very quiet. The Perfectly Princess Tea is held entirely separately from Afternoon Tea.

 

[horizons82]

Fantastic news Tiggerish, and thank you so much for the help...exactly what I was hoping to hear.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

My wife and I have also gone multiple times, and we are not hungry afterwards! It's been very quiet and reserved each time that we went there. We love taking that quiet break in the afternoon. Just don't eat a big lunch before you go, or have an ADR for a larger dinner soon afterwards.

Oh, and they have several assorted tea sandwiches, and if you don't like one of them (we absolutely detest salmon), so you can substitute for any one or more of the sandwiches. You can even substitute from the children's sandwich selections. Our son did that on our last trip, since he didn't care for any of the adult choices, and the CMs had no problem with that at all.

 

[horizons82]

Wow, I was already looking forward to going here, but now that I hear you can make substitutions I'm even more looking forward to going...sounds lovely!

Out of curiosity...I assume you know which kind of sandwiches you get in advance so you can ask for substitutions in advance?

 

[wannabeBelle]

I too have done the tea numerous times, It is held separately from the children's tea and tends to be a more grown up affair. The few times I have seen children, they were very quiet and well behaved.
As of the last time I was there which was in May of this year, the ala carte options had been done away with completely. You can substitute items within the packages but ala carte items were not available at all. My personal favorite is the house made scones with the lemon curd, heavenly!!! Enjoy yourselves, you will have a great time. Marie

 

[wannabeBelle]

Wow, I was already looking forward to going here, but now that I hear you can make substitutions I'm even more looking forward to going...sounds lovely!

Out of curiosity...I assume you know which kind of sandwiches you get in advance so you can ask for substitutions in advance?

I remember a curry chicken salad one, the salmon one, the watercress and something else (cant recall at the moment), a pear and cheese one, and one other type. I didn't like any of them so they were more than happy to bring me all ham and cheese sandwiches which are served on regular white bread with no spreads on them, perfect for me!!! Marie

 

[DizneyPryncess]

My mom and I went a few years ago, and we loved it. It was very quiet, and quaint. I don't remember there being any children, and if there were, they were well behaved & quiet also. As it's been said, the Princess Tea Party doesn't interfere with the afternoon tea.

When we went, I was pregnant, and didn't know what the sandwiches were ahead of time. Upon finding out that several of them contained soft cheese, the chef swapped for me. At the time, they were egg salad, cucumber and watercress, shrimp salad, some kind of pear & cheese, and chicken salad. They doubled up the ones I could have, and eliminated the ones I couldn't. They were really nice & accommodating, and actually gave me a few extra since I was "eating for two", haha.

We had plenty of food, and we had the Buckingham Palace package. Tea, scones, sandwiches, a giant bowl of berries & cream....everything was so good. Highly recommend it!

 

[wannabeBelle]

Yup that was it!! Cucumber was in with the watercress and the egg salad was the other type. Thanks DizneyPryncess!!! I also had the Buckingham package which includes the sandwiches, the scones and a jam tart, and a dessert of either pastries or strawberries & cream and of course your choice of a type of tea. Marie

 

[DizneyPryncess]

Yup that was it!! Cucumber was in with the watercress and the egg salad was the other type. Thanks DizneyPryncess!!! I also had the Buckingham package which includes the sandwiches, the scones and a jam tart, and a dessert of either pastries or strawberries & cream and of course your choice of a type of tea. Marie

No problem! I was pretty detailed with my scrapbooking on that trip or I would have not remembered any of those, haha.

 

[wannabeBelle]

Yeah my list was done from memory and as I didn't actually eat any other choices, that didn't help me with the remembering!!! I'm signed up for one of the days on my next trip and I specifically picked Wednesday. Wes is on the grand piano in the lobby and the last time I was there prior to May, a lovely young lady came out and was singing with him, she had a MAGNIFICENT voice. I spoke to a friend who works in Entertainment and he knew exactly who I was talking about. He said she has one of the best natural voices he has ever heard. Not insignificant praise considering the field he is in. Apparently she only sings with him on Wednesdays though from like 3pm to about 3:30 or so. Marie